Hall of Fame, 2009 Inductees

Annie Watts Cloncs

In 1969 Annie Watts graduated from the Department of Foods & Nutrition with a BS in Foods & Nutrition in Business with highest distinction. She has leveraged this degree well into a career as a marketing communications consultant and home economist with 30+ years of food industry experience. She held consumer affairs and marketing services positions with Stokely-Van Camp, Inc.; Campbell Soup Company; and Borden, Inc. before beginning her own business in 1992.

A native of southern Indiana, Annie has studied at LaVarenne, Paris, and with Simone Beck in Grasse, France. She has traveled with food writers to Bangkok and Vietnam and has also studied the culinary traditions of Mexico’s Colonial Heartland.

A former 10-year 4-H member in Jackson and Spencer Counties, Annie has incorporated those skills and connections into her career and is President Emeritus of the Indiana 4-H Foundation Board of Directors. Both for the 4-H Foundation and for clients such as the American Dairy Association of Indiana, she has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and in public presentations.

Her clients include Cabot Creamery Cooperative, maker of award-winning Vermont cheddar cheeses, for whom she currently serves as Central Region Marketing Manager; and American Trim, a metal products design, trim and forming company which serves the appliance and transportation industries. Additional companies she has represented include McCormick & Company, Inc.; Clabber Girl Corporation; Indian Pork Producers Association; Edelman Public Relations Worldwide; and Indiana Farm Bureau, et al.

She is a frequent speaker on consumer food trends. Her consulting business provides expertise on consumer products and trends in the food industry as they pertain to marketing strategy development and execution. For consumer and food service publications, she provides recipe development, writing and editing, editorial writing and communications. She manages special events for clients, including coordination of media communications.

Annie is President and a Founding Member of the Consumer Science Business Professionals (now Association for Consumer Trends). She is Past Chairman of the Indiana Consumer Science Business Professionals (now Indiana Consumer Trends Council) and Past National Chairman of Home Economists in Business (HEIB). She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Purdue College of Consumer and Family Sciences Alumni Association and the Greater Greencastle Chamber of Commerce.

She is the recipient of numerous professional honors and awards including Distinguished Alumni of the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, Purdue University, 1991, and the 1969 Flora Roberts medal recipient as the Outstanding Senior Woman of Purdue University.


April C. Mason

The Foods & Nutrition Hall of Fame was established to honor alumni, as well as those who have made a contribution to the department. April Mason fulfills both categories. She was educated in the Overseas School of Rome (Rome, Italy) and received her B.S. from Mount Union College (Alliance, OH), before coming to Purdue to pursue an M.S. in plant physiology. Moving to the Department of Foods & Nutrition, she earned the Ph.D. in 1984 and joined this department’s faculty as an Extension Specialist in the fall of 1984 where she progressed through the ranks to full professor in 1994. In 1996, she became Associate Dean for Extension of the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, then Associate Dean for Discovery and Engagement in 2004. She left Purdue in 2004 to become Dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State University.

Dr. Mason’s published work reflects her combined training in plant physiology and nutrition, i.e. selenium bioavailability and weaning foods of high nutritional quality. Her current research focuses on the area of availability of key nutrients from plant-based food products, because these products provide critical calories and essential nutrients to a large proportion of the world’s population. She has mentored 30 graduate students, as major professor or as a graduate committee member.

Many of her Extension accomplishments and related publications are in food safety and food security or insecurity. While at Purdue, she developed the first audiovisual and teaching curriculum to communicate the food irradiation processing technology to consumers. Through the leadership of Dr. Mason, Purdue is known as a leader in the area of food safety and nutrition programming for not-for-profit food distribution programs. Among many other accomplishments, she was successful in funding Extension material development through extramural grants.

Dr. Mason currently serves as the Colorado State representative to NASULGC Board on Human Sciences on the Executive Committee (since 2005) and was the program chair from 2006-2008. She served as the grant panel manager for the CSREES USDA NRI Nutrition and Obesity Panel in 2005 and 2006. She also has been called upon by CSREES to serve as a reviewer.

Throughout her career she has been active in professional organizations, serving as Chair of the Indiana Section of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), President of the Indiana Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, District III and President of the Indiana Nutrition Council. At the national level she has served in many capacities for IFT, including Nutrition Division, Chair; Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition; Babcock-Hart Award Jury Committee; Extension Division Executive Committee; and the Advisory Committee for the Office of Science, Government and Technology. In the American Society of Nutrition, she served as the RIS Chair for Community and Public Health and the Osborne-Mendal Award Jury Committee.

Her many awards through the years began with double honors her senior year at Mount Union, where she was selected as the Phi Sigma Outstanding Biology Senior, as well as the Outstanding Senior Woman. This precedent continues in her career. She has been honored with the Ann Hancook Award from Purdue Cooperative Extension, Distinguished Agriculture Alumni in 2005 and Distinguished Consumer and Family Science Alumni in 2006.


Patsy J. Mellott

Patsy J. Mellott retired from Kraft in 2006 after a productive 36 year career in the food industry. She started with a BS in Foods & Nutrition in Business from Purdue and an MBA in Food Marketing from Michigan State and created a career of corporate food marketing and marketing service management in the business-to-business channel with emphasis on problem solving, communications, project and event management, and marketing application of technology in the context of corporate business goals.

Patsy spent five years at Campbell Soup Company before moving to Kraft Foods, Inc. in 1975, where she established her career for over 30 years. Hired as a Marketing Manager in 1975, she added Brand Manager of New Products to her portfolio in 1982. In that position she managed all aspects of test marketing a new concept in consumer packaged foods and bringing it to market. While in this position, Women in Management named her Corporate Woman of the Year.

From 1985-1995 she served as Director of Trade Marketing and Communications. Responsible for strategy development and management of internal and external marketing, she strengthened the corporate relationship with the American Culinary Federation through support of culinary apprenticeships and sponsorship of the U.S. Culinary Olympic Team. She developed award-winning and innovative marketing and sales development tools. Among many other responsibilities, she was responsible for multi-product promotions and repeat purchase accomplishment that resulted in a significant brand shift; she directed a national launch of advertising that repositioned Kraft Foodservice. During this period she was a member of the Kraft sponsorship steering committees for both the Women’s Tennis Association and the Culinary Olympics Team. She was awarded the American Culinary Federation Educational Foundation Award and she was chosen as a Distinguished Alumni of the College of Consumer and Family Sciences.

Promoted to Manager of Integrated Marketing Communications in 1995, where Patsy provided eCommunications and Direct Services support for the $2 billion + foodservice division of Kraft. She led the application of technology to facilitate marketing communications to employees and customers-internet site, www.kraftfoodservice.com [http://www.kraftfoodservice.com/], division intranet and the successful development of a web-based tool to produce just-in-time printed materials. The Chicago Minority Business Council “Outstanding Buyer” Award was presented to her in 1999 and Kraft presented her with the Kraft Superior Achievement Award in 2000.

Her non-profit contributions have been many. In 1985, she was a charter committee member for the American Cancer Society “Taste of Elegance” event. She has been a volunteer consultant for the Executive Service Corps of Chicago and has serves a current term on the Consumer and Family Science Alumni Advisory Board, as Vice President. She is also on the Purdue University President’s Council Leadership Board.


Sandra Nanos Morreale

Sandra Morreale received her bachelor of science from the Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University, completing the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CUP). She earned a Master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University. Her first position was as a clinical dietitian in a Chicago hospital. Her talent for nutrition communication soon established her in both professional organizations and industry.

In 1987, she accepted a position at Kraft Foods, Inc., in Glenview, Illinois, where she has had a rich career. Currently the Associate Director of Nutrition, she is responsible for nutrition communication programs to meet the needs of consumers and health professionals about food, diet and health.

Since joining Kraft Foods, Sandra provides timely perspectives on nutrition and health issues to guide research and development, marketing and public relations efforts. She initiated a nutrition communication outreach program to professionals, established a Healthy Living recipe and food communication strategy to promote well-being among consumers, and is instrumental in health marketing and nutrition education programs about better-for-you products, including innovative internet tools about nutrition and health.

Sandra Morreale serves as a media spokesperson on nutrition topics and has given a number of platform presentations at professional conferences on topics ranging from consumer attitudes about nutrition to emerging health benefits of diet components.

Prior to joining Kraft Foods, she served as Marketing Administrator for The American Dietetic Association, where she was associate editor of The Competitive Edge: Marketing Strategies for the Registered Dietitian manual and managed the media spokesperson network to position the Association as the expert voice in promoting optimal health and well-being.

She is a Fellow and member of The American Dietetic Association. Sandra has served on the boards of the Chicago Nutrition Association and the Chicago Heart Association. She has served as a member of the ADA’s Strategic Planning Committee and as an internship preceptor to dietetic students.


Janet Maxwell Roseland

Janet Maxwell Roseland graduated from Foods & Nutrition in the first Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CUP) class in 1977. Food service dietitian and instructor was her first position at Kansas State University. She quickly moved into administrative and managerial positions, while completing a Master’s in 1981. After moving to North Dakota in 1986 she took a position as an instructor/lecturer in Foods & Nutrition at North Dakota State University (1986-1998). During this period she held a position as the Coordinated Dietetics Program Coordinator for one year and seven years as a consultant dietitian for Dining Services. She also served as a consultant dietitian for Northarvest Bean Growers and the Turtle Mountain School District during this period.

In 1999, she moved to the U.S. Foodservice in Columbia, MD., where she held positions of Group Menu Coordinator and freelance writer, moving to department manager then corporate dietitian. Janet’s combined experiences positioned her well to assume the role of nutritionist for the Nutrient Data Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, of the Agricultural Research Service of USDA in 2005. She currently coordinates efforts to compile, generate, validate and disseminate data on the analytical composition of dietary supplements. She is the team leader of the professional group whose charge is to initiate the dietary supplement ingredient database (DSID). The DSID will provide critical information for assessing the total intake of nutrients and other components from supplements for their impact of public health. Other areas of interest for her include the impact of dietary supplements on nutrition status and overall health. She has several publications and is called upon to present both seminars and posters of current data at national meetings.

Raised in Milan, Indiana, Janet does not remember a time when she did not aspire to attend Purdue. Her parents were career Extension educators who told their children from the time they were born that they were going to attend college! “They instilled in us a love for God and others, and a strong work ethic on the farm.” She also says, “4-H was a gateway to Purdue. All those hours spent practicing nutrition demonstrations, working at the fair building, teaching younger members to judge muffins, and persevering in sheep showmanship prepared me for college and taught me life-long skills. I feel that living in a small county offered more opportunities to take leadership roles than if we'd lived in a city.” She was very active in her years at Purdue and was the student representative on the committee that chose the name “Consumer & Family Sciences” to replace “Home Economics.”

She wants to acknowledge the influence of others in her career pathway. Sarah Cauble Johnson and the F&N faculty had great influence on her education, as well as in developing career directions. She says, "Miss Cauble"was my mentor at the Windsor Halls during the foodservice management rotation of CUP. Miss Wilson and Mrs. Abel led us through the CUP program,as our class was Purdue's first accredited CUP class."MissBennett,” Miss Wilson,and others encouraged us to be active in ADA. Mrs. Jamesen raised enthusiasm about the foods component of nutrition. Drs. Kirksey and Justice promoted lifecycle nutrition. All along the way I had fantastic mentors at Kansas State, North Dakota State, U.S. Foodservice and now at USDA. Truly, they deserve all the credit.”

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